Condo development to flank Oheka Castle

After months of negotiations, Cold Spring Country Club has signed a deal to build up to 200 condominiums on a portion of its property, without jeopardizing its revered golf course.

The agreement is part of a plan by developer Gary Melius to build a European-style golf course community at the foot of Oheka Castle in Huntington, the 126-room mansion now used mostly for catering and special events. The proposed 22-acre development will include 13 acres of the country club and 9 acres of castle property. And the amount of money Melius will pay the club for the land and development rights will depend on the number of units Melius is allowed to build.

Howard Stein, a partner at Certilman Balin in East Meadow and an attorney for the country club, said the club could net more than $50 million from the transaction. In the fall of 2006, Melius wanted to buy the entire 168-acre club for about $90 million, but the deal never came to fruition.

And although most communities would likely rail against such a project, Melius has been such a good neighbor that he has enjoyed steadfast support from the 315-home community called Cold Spring Hills that surrounds his castle.

Melius rescued the abandoned Oheka Castle, originally built for financier Otto Kahn in 1921, from vandals in the 1980s, much to the delight of the homeowners who lived nearby. Since then, Melius has gone out of his way to make sure Oheka is part of the community.

Gayle Snyder, who chairs the Cold Spring Civic Association, said Melius has always wanted his neighbors to enjoy the castle. From haunted mansion Halloween parties to July 4th fireworks to subsidizing the civic association’s annual gala, Snyder said Melius has given back to residents in many ways.

Every Easter, Melius hosts an egg hunt on Oheka’s expansive front lawn. While candy is in most of the eggs, a handful are stuffed with $100 bills.

Stein said Melius has also been a good neighbor to the club over the years, sharing right-of-ways and roads that lead through the golf course to the castle. Stein said the contract stipulates that buyers of proposed condo units would become Cold Spring members, so there will be interaction between Melius and the club well beyond the initial sale of any property.

Huntington Councilman Stu Besen said an official plan has not been filed with the town, but he said saving the golf course was important.

Besen was instrumental in Huntington’s recent building moratorium on golf course properties, which was intended to stem the tide of course closings.

Melius said his condo project would be “good for the club, good for the community and good for the town.” He said he plans to build between 150 and 200 units on the site.

Snyder said Melius has twice met with the civic association on his plan, and she said the sense was that the community wanted to preserve the country club. They trusted Melius with that.

“Nobody wants more development,” Snyder said. “His plan would have less negative impact on the neighborhood than another developer that would come in and cut up the golf course.”